Pictet - Robotics I GBP
Why is this fund on our radar?
Pictet Robotics offers exposure to one of the most promising themes within the technology sector, benefiting from structural trends such as ageing populations and efforts to bring back manufacturing from low-cost countries and closer to home, among others. The management team - Peter Lingen, Daegal Tsang, Francesco Pighini and Stanislas Buiatti - invests across both developed (e.g. the United States) and emerging (e.g. China) markets, focusing on companies involved in areas such as automation, robotic applications and components, data processing, etc. They apply a ‘growth at a reasonable price’ approach, seeking to avoid companies whose prospects may be overstated by the market. Since its launch in October 2015, the fund has comfortably outperformed global equity markets as well as many funds specialising on technology companies and tended to capture more upside in rising markets . However, we would caution that the fund has historically experienced sharp fluctuations in value, reflecting its narrow focus on rapidly growing industries, and we expect this volatility to remain a feature.
Skip to Our VerdictPerformance
Since its launch in October 2015 (to 31/10/2025), Pictet Robotics has generated more than twice the returns of its benchmark, the MSCI ACWI Index, a broad global index that includes both developed and emerging markets, and has also outperformed the average fund in the IA Technology and Technology Innovation sector. However, it is worth noting that broader global technology indices, such as the Dow Jones World Technology Index, have outperformed Pictet Robotics over the period, having benefited from the strong returns of several technology mega-caps, predominantly listed in the United States. While Pictet Robotics has held some of these stocks, many are not involved in robotics-related activities and therefore do not meet the fund’s investment mandate. In addition, Pictet Robotics has been more volatile than both its benchmark and global technology indices over the period. We believe this heightened volatility reflects the fund’s specialist nature, which offers limited diversification. Nonetheless, we think robotics is a theme that should benefit from several trends, including ageing populations and re-shoring trends, among others.
Pictet Robotics has generated double-digit returns in most calendar years since its launch, with its strongest absolute performance occurring in 2020 and 2023. In 2020, investors were very positive on companies with high growth potential, even when their cash flows were expected to materialise far into the future. In addition, disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic made many companies think more carefully about how and where they managed their supply chains. Robotics has been a beneficiary of this shift as it helps to narrow the gap between low wage developing markets and higher wage economies, allowing supply chains to be shorter. In 2023, investor enthusiasm for artificial intelligence (AI) supported the robotics theme, as AI could drive further innovation in the field. Conversely, the fund recorded its weakest calendar-year performance in 2022, when surging inflation and interest rates raised concerns about a severe recession, prompting risk aversion among investors. As such, we expect Pictet Robotics to deliver strong returns during periods of technological breakthroughs (particularly those related to robotics) and/or in times when investors are happy to take more risk more generally. Reciprocally, we expect the fund to struggle when investors feel more cautious. The chart below shows the fund’s calendar-year performance since 2020 (the first full calendar year following its launch) with that of an ETF replicating the MSCI World (a global equity index only encompassing developed markets). We believe it shows that Pictet Robotics can deliver substantially higher returns than a broad global equity index when the market rewards risk-taking (e.g., 2020 and 2023), but may also experience sharper losses in falling markets (e.g., 2022).
Calendar-year returns
Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future returns
Portfolio
Pictet Robotics offers exposure to companies that contribute to, or benefit from, developments in robotics and enabling technologies. These include businesses involved in robotics applications and components, automation, sensors, data processing, and related areas, with the managers categorising their holdings into three economic sectors: automation, enabling technology, and consumer & services applications. Many of these areas are expected to experience significant growth in the coming decades, as countries worldwide face ageing populations and, consequently, shrinking working-age cohorts. At the same time, rising labour costs in emerging markets, coupled with the global trend towards re-shoring production, could also support the types of companies in which Pictet Robotics invests.
The management team focuses on companies they believe offer attractive growth prospects at a reasonable price, aiming to avoid overpaying for expected growth. Although the portfolio is predominantly invested in the United States, the fund benefits from a global mandate, giving it the flexibility to invest across both developed and emerging markets such as China. This broadens the opportunity set, though it is important to note that emerging markets can be more susceptible to geopolitical risks and typically exhibit greater volatility. It is also worth noting that, given the global nature of its investments, the fund will be influenced - either positively or negatively - by fluctuations in currency exchange rates.
Geographic allocation
Our Verdict
In our view, Pictet Robotics provides exposure to an exciting thematic poised for growth, driven by dynamics such as ageing populations, , re-shoring trends, and rising wages in emerging markets, which could further incentivise companies to bring back manufacturing closer to home. In fact, the global robotics market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 15% between 2025 and 2030. However, it is worth noting that promising themes can sometimes be subject to market exuberance. We therefore believe active management is important to mitigate the risk of investing in stocks trading at unreasonable valuations, with the fund’s managers ensuring they pay a reasonable price for the growth potential of their underlying holdings.
That said, we would caution that Pictet Robotics carries some risk, as its focus on a specific theme limits diversification. This reduces the managers’ options to offset weaknesses, which has historically resulted in higher volatility compared to standard global equity and broader technology indices. Nonetheless, the fund has delivered returns well in excess of the MSCI ACWI Index, a broad index of global equities encompassing both developed and emerging markets, since launch. As such, we believe Pictet Robotics could serve well as a satellite allocation within a well-diversified portfolio, providing a growth catalyst through one of the most promising themes in technology.
Key Risks
- Thematic funds offer limited diversification
- Technological progress does not always result in strong returns on investment
- More volatile than a standard global equity index or generalist global technology indices
